During this frantic NaNoWriMo season, I wanted to share some wonderful writing tips from famous writers (from the Timesoak blog compilation):

Roald Dahl: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

Agatha Christie: “The best time for planning a book is when you’re doing the dishes.”

Dr. Seuss: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

Dolly Parton: “Find out who you are, then do it on purpose”

Neil Gaiman: “It does help, to be a writer, to have the sort of crazed ego that doesn’t allow for failure. The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering “Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!” and then writing something so unbelievably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there’s nothing left to write.” (from my own collection)

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These are the sorts of things I used to write on post-its and stick on my monitor screen to inspire me. (Harder to do now, with a laptop…)